Simone Inzaghi is officially Antonio Conte’s successor on the Inter bench. The Nerazzurri successfully lured him away from Lazio with a last-ditch attempt after he had initially agreed to stay with the Biancocelesti. He was the second option in the list of CEO Giuseppe Marotta after Massimiliano Allegri, who opted to return to Juventus. They had sealed the deal last week, but they had to wait to formalize the hiring for bureaucratic reasons.
The 45-year-old gaffer has penned a two-year contract and will make €4M per season, plus €1M bonuses, earning a significant raise. He has spent the last 22 years in the Italian Capital, first as a player, then as manager of the youth sides, and finally at the helm of the first team.
Inzaghi was originally promoted as a caretaker manager in April of 2016 after the axing of Stefano Pioli. He was supposed to return to Primavera the following summer, as Lazio were about to appoint Marcelo Bielsa, but the negotiation fell through at the 11th hour, and he was confirmed on the bench. He went on to lead the team in five consecutive campaigns, finishing outside of the top six just once, in 2018/2019. He won Coppa Italia in 2019 and the Supercoppa twice.
Inzaghi will continue to count on Romelu Lukaku despite the interest from Chelsea and Manchester City. The striker spoke to the Belgian TV VTM: “I will stay at Inter. I have already spoken to the new coach, maybe I should not say that, but it was a very positive conversation. The challenge is to continue winning, I am great in Milan. In the end, we achieved something, I liked it and I want to do it again, maybe this time in front of a packed San Siro.”